Columbia College’s science department has grown substantially over the past six years. With this growth, the department must try to keep up, such as, mentioned in my story running Sunday, a new science building.

When interviewing Julie Estabrooks, chairwoman of the science department, she got the chance to give me a tour of the current facilities used to teach science courses.

When the photographer, Estabrooks and myself entered the Robnett-Spence Center, I was not sure what to expect. We walked down the hall past the only bathroom in the building to have lab coordinator Laura Coe unlock the two upstairs classrooms used for the chemistry lab and upper-level biology.

The chemistry lab room wasn’t very big at all and to be honest, like quoted in my story, not any better than my lab I had for chemistry in high school. The fume hoods, used for ventilation purposes, instead of being above what needed ventilation, were crammed in the back corner of the room, blocked by supplies. At campuses like MU,  the fume hoods reside every lab pair directly above the experiment table, Estabrooks said.

The upper-level biology classroom was not much either, with more crammed up supplies, filling a lot of the space.

After the tour of the upstairs, the three of us traveled downstairs to the student research room, which wasn’t much bigger than a walk-in closet, cluttered like the other rooms.

The general science lab room looked like a classroom. The instrument room provided additional lab space for chemistry and other courses, but it could be a safety hazard, due to the fact that an instructor is forced to travel back and forth between two classrooms, Estabrooks said.

After the tour of that building, we walked down the road to the Science Lab Annex, where additional classes are held. Microscopes are stored in kitchen counter like compartments, and Coe mentioned that they have to bring over distilled water from the other building for experiments.

My story has sources discussing why the Columbia College science department needs a new and improved building.

The pioneers of the early western frontier are often depicted as burly men with beards and axes, chopping down trees and hunting buffalo to survive in the untamed wilderness.  But beside the Davie Crockett frontiersman stood the no less brave but little recognized frontierswomen.  Mary Easton Sibley was one of those women.  Founder of Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo., Sibley was a pioneer of frontier, and women’s education.

To celebrate Sibley’s contributions and accomplishments, Secretary of State Robin Carnahan announced a program in which Kristie Wolferman will discuss her new book, The Indomitable Mary Easton Sibley: Pioneer of Women’s Education in Missouri. The program will be at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Missouri State Archives.

“Wolferman’s book is the first to fully draw on Mary and George Sibley’s journals and letters, which shed light on Sibley’s views regarding women’s social and political roles, slavery, temperance, religion and other topics,” according to a news release from the office of the Secretary of State.

Sibley was a key figure in paving the way for women’s education nationwide.

The Missouri State Archives is at 600 W. Main Street in Jefferson City.  The program is provided free of charge.

The New York Times recently reported on a business that has taken off called Chegg.com which allows college students to rent textbooks instead of buying and selling books back to University bookstores.

The site works just like Netflix. You select a book to rent and then choose the amount of time you want to rent the book (a semester is 125 days, a quarter is 85, and a summer rental is 60 days). When you’re done with the book, you send it back, with free shipping. Chegg.com lists the book’s list price and tells you how much you’re saving as you browse. 

The site, which claims to have saved students more than $40 million in a constantly updating ticker, also plants a tree for every book rented, sold, or bought. 

I’ve been a college student for two years now, so I’ve seen every money saving book scheme there is. Frankly, I’ve never been impressed. I’ve tried them all–Half.com, the tents set up at various places around campus, the bookstore itself–none of them have saved me more than a few dollars with twice the hassle. So I did a little experiment on Chegg.com and searched the book I had to buy a few semesters ago for Statistics 1300H. 

The list price for the book was just under $125 depending on which website you consult. If I’m paying list price for books, I’m not eating.

I paid right around $85 for the book on Half.com. The book came in two halfs, tattered, without a cover that stayed on. I’m not allergic to duct tape, but this thing was in awful shape. When I tried to sell it back to the University bookstore, they looked at me like I was crazy and then said they no longer needed that version of the book. It went into the dumpster behind my dorm. I got nothing back for it other than the satisfaction of ripping it up and tossing Statistics out of my life. 

Chegg.com rents the book for $48.59 and says the book will be shipped in perfect condition. 

It might not be a perfect fit for everyone. With 25% late fees, I can imagine myself looking for my lost keys and finding Friedman’s Statistics collecting dust (and late fees) under the couch. However, in the world of increasing education costs, I just might try it next semester. 

More info:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/05/business/05ping.html?_r=1&ref=education

www.chegg.com

For those unaware, the ARC at 2800 Maguire Blvd. is a completely different building from the ARC at 1701 Ash St. Although they share the same acronym, they offer completely different services. The ARC on Ash Street is Columbia’s Activity and Recreation Center, while Maguire Boulevard contains the University of Missouri’s Assessment Resource Center.

Once I made the connection that an associate research professor probably wouldn’t have her office at a public gym, I was able to meet Christi Bergin for an interview. When I told her about my initial confusion, she informed me that she usually refers to the location as the A-R-C and not ARC. She then joked how if her office were at the ARC, we could lift weights while I interviewed her.

After interviewing Bergin for my story on positive teacher-student relationships, she showed me around the Assessment Research Center. From the outside, the building is large and somewhat warehouse-like. On the inside, it houses researchers and staff who do research or provide assessment tools for clients.

The center provides research for anyone who may want to contract with them, Bergin said. Testing services are offered at the kindergarten through college level. The center has been around for over 70 years; it has a full-time staff of 30 and 80-100 staff who score open-ended assessments, such as essay tests, their Web site states. Outside contractors also assist with special projects, it said.

One particular project the center does is grade the evaluations that MU students fill out at the end of each semester. The machines at the ARC can grade up to 30,000 tests each hour, Bergin said.

My interview with Bergin not only allowed me to learn about her research, but an educational resource run by the university I attend.

Tickets for the University Concert Series are now available online at www.concertseries.org.

Tickets can be purchased at 409 Jesse Hall or by calling 882-3781. Paroll deduction or student charge also applies.

All performances, unless otherwise noted, are in Jesse Auditorium.

• Huey Lewis and the News: 7 p.m. Sept. 14
• The Wedding Singer: 7 p.m. Oct. 28
• Camelot: 7 p.m. Nov. 1
• Clint Black: 7 p.m. Nov. 4
• Avenue Q: 7 p.m. Dec. 1
• Wynonna: 7 p.m. Dec. 9
• Cirque Dreams: 7 p.m. Dec. 13
• The Wizard of Oz: 7 p.m. Jan. 26
• Peking Acrobats: 7 p.m. Feb. 9
• Ladysmith Black Mambazo: 7 p.m. Feb. 17

• Cabaret: 7 p.m. April 26

• Moscow Festival Ballet’s Giselle: 2 p.m. May 2

I’ve interviewed Dianne Lynch, the new Stephens College president, twice. The first time I walked into her office, I was nervous (she used to be a journalist…she’d know if I was doing a bad job with the interview)–and I had about 20 questions running around in my head I needed answered.

When she invited me into her conference room, I introduced myself, sat in a puffy chair, told her I wanted to follow her around for the day and then immediately began firing answers back to all her questions.

Lynch, a former journalist and journalism educator (in 1999 she was national Journalism Teacher of the Year, according to a Stephens college news release), was bubbling with enthusiasm to have a j-school student in her office. She began teaching right away.

What classes are you taking?

Where’d you grow up?

So you want to be a journalist…

What are you covering?

How long will you be reporting?

By the time she knew my life story, I’d asked at most, one or two questions. For the first 30 minutes of our interview, she was the reporter, I, the subject.

In half an hour, Dr. Lynch gave me advice on reporting for the summer, career advice and one lifelong lesson: Never run out of breath or the journalist-turned-college-president might outgun you with questions.

On Tuesday, I walked into her office again. This time I was ready. 30 minutes in, just like my last interview, I didn’t have any answers about new media, the subject I’d come to discuss. But it didn’t matter–because sometimes questions are answers.

Who is Dianne Lynch?

She’s an inquisitive journalist and teacher. I have a feeling, no matter her job title, this won’t change.

If you work at a nursery, landscaping business or just do a lot of gardening at home, you’re certain to have to deal with bugs and weeds that can harm your plants. But what can you do about those annoying little critters?

On July 14, MU is hosting a field day of workshops dealing with landscaping issues at its South Farms Center complex.  The day will include discussions about annual flower selections, turfgrass diseases affecting golf courses and the best products for getting rid of weeds and crabgrass.

Exotic creepy crawlies, including the emerald ash borer, Asian longhorn beetle, gypsy moth and ambrosia beetle, will also be the topic of discussion.

MU horticulturists David Trinklein and Chris Starbuck will lead the afternoon session, which according to an MU news release includes “a tour of the state Capitol complex in Jefferson City to discuss plant selection, use and design.”

Registration is $40 for the morning session, including lunch, and $10 for the afternoon session.

South Farms Center is at 3600 E. New Haven Road, a quarter of a mile east of the Route AC/Grindstone Parkway exit of Highway 63 in southeast Columbia.

For additional information contact Tonya Mueller at 573-356-6955 or Brad Fresenburg at 573-442-4893.

This week, I talked to MU students who received financial aid so they had a chance at going to college. Without that support, college life would remain a dream with a slim chance to become a reality.

The recession is making the lives of students and their families even harder. MU has seen a 16-percent increase in the number of students seeking federal financial aid this year, meaning that 2,859 more students are having trouble paying for college.

Read more about this in my story Wednesday.

Working in Starbucks at the Memorial Union at the crack of dawn everyday provides very “interesting” experiences. One experience I did not expect however, was to hear a small group of doctorate students singing a song about community to the tune of “Twelve Days of Christmas.” From this jolly harmony echoing off walls, I gathered the students had a successful week.

I covered a story about 23 doctorate students who met with nine mentors from around the world at MU this week to discuss science teaching and learning. They met and held a series of discussions and workshops to help the students with their research.

Since I’ve been a barista for several years, I’ve been taught to keep the “coffee shop talk” alive. Daily, when the doctorate students would make their appearances during breaks between sessions for a tall cup of Pike Place or an iced grande non-fat hazelnut latte, I found myself asking about how everything was going.

The students I spoke with, such as Smith, who I mentioned in my article, said the conference was a “positive learning experience.”

Overall, the smiles and excitement that “sang” from their voices led me to observe the success of the week.

MU is hosting an international conference on bioelectrics with speakers from MU as well as Japan, France, Germany, and Thailand today and Friday.

According to a University news release, bioelectrics is an emerging science that studies short electrical pulses and the effect these pulses have on biological cells and tissue. The study of bioelectrics could advance solutions in medicine, forestry, and renewable energy.

Bioelectrics could be used to target and kill specific cells such as cancer cells or warts, decontaminate foods, or deliver drugs into specific cells according to research published by Old Dominion University.

The event will take place in the Bond Life Sciences Center on the MU campus.

For more information: http://engineering.missouri.edu/bioelectric/about/